Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

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Pam couldn't believe her bad luck. She wasn't sure how exactly it had happened, and if there was ever a time she'd contemplated bribing the film crew for the raw footage, it was the day Angela had offered her one of her precious kittens. She was sure Angela had used some sort of voodoo on her. When the words first came out of Angela's mouth, all Pam could think was no no NO. Pam had always been a dog person, she'd never cared much for the aloof personalities of most cats; to be honest, their sharp little claws wigged her out a bit. Yet somehow she heard her own voice say "Thank you Angela, that would be great." She meant to immediately tell Angela it was a mistake, a bad idea, not something she would ever even consider, ANYTHING to get her out of this mess. But then every time she glanced over at Angela she saw a warmth in her eyes that had never been there before. And Pam, never one to put the well being of herself over others, couldn't let that smile slip away. She was starting to really care for this Angela. So she made arrangements to pick up the kitten after work on Friday. Then she'd have the whole weekend to spend getting used to her new roommate.

That Friday, a few minutes before lunch, Angela approached the reception desk.

“Have you made adequate arrangements for the transportation of Ashe this evening?”

Pam stuttered, “Um, well, I brought a small box with some towels in it, and I picked up some kitten food and litter at the supermarket last night.” She watched the warmth drain from Angela’s face. Obviously, Pam had missed something. “Is that…wrong? I read online that-”

“A box? You want to drive with my Sprinkles’ offspring in a box, Pam?” Angela spit the word box out of her mouth as if it were poison. Her nose was scrunched and her eyes narrowed. Pam realized that she hadn’t seen this side of her since she accepted the kitten. She definitely liked the new, less scary, Angela much better. “Did you not know that when kittens become frightened they look for safe enclosed areas? If you put Ashe in a box it will be his instinct to jump out and try to get under your feet, which could cause an accident, or worse, you could crush his fragile bones beneath your heavy foot!”

“Wow, Angela.” Jim interrupted.

She addressed him in a stern tone, “Jim.” 

Angela had never cared for Jim. She didn’t care much for anyone who treated her…special friend with anything less than the utmost respect he deserved.

“I, uh, have a pet carrier at home for my cat. If you want I can run home and grab it for you, I mean. Just so we can be sure you won’t crash your car into a tree, or worse, step on a kitten.” Jim stammered over his words, but offered Pam a genuine smile. He’d been incredibly uncomfortable with his situation since Karen asked about his feelings for Pam. He could feel her eyes burning into the back of his head and his cheeks flushed involuntarily.

“Uh, you have a cat?” Pam blushed furiously. It seemed these days that Jim just nodding in her direction would make her flustered. They hadn’t had an actual conversation since he had congratulated her on her artwork. It hadn’t gotten past her that he never did look at her winning painting.

“Yeah, he was just kinda hanging around my apartment when I first moved to Stamford, and I’d never lived by myself before, so I took him in. We became buddies pretty quick. He was good company when I was feeling pretty…”

Jim trailed off as he watched Pam’s glance turn downwards. He realized that if he said anymore they could actually have a meaningful conversation. He was startled to feel a small, warm hand on his lower back. He had been so intent on not giving any emotion away to Pam that he hadn’t noticed Karen approaching, ready to go to lunch. She gave Pam a lukewarm attempt at a smile, and nodded towards the door.

“I’ll bring the carrier back with me. “ He smiled at Pam again and followed Karen out of the office.

“Well, it’s a good thing that someone in this office knows about proper pet transportation.” And with that Angela spun on her heel and headed back to her desk.

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The rest of the afternoon passed quickly. Jim returned with the carrier as promised, and before Pam knew it, Angela was once again at reception with her coat and scarf.  She had started to get nervous at around three thirty and had decided, yet again, to tell Angela that she had made a mistake and was not ready for a kitten. That changed, yet again, when she looked up at Angela, all bundled for the snow. She seemed to be having some sort of internal battle regarding how excited she should be about giving Pam the kitten. Pam could see that she was as giddy as a schoolgirl and having a very hard time keeping her stony demeanor. She couldn’t ever remember a time that Angela’s eyes had sparkled like this, not even when she was telling Pam about ‘Kurt and Noelle’.

Pam, once again, put her fear aside and smiled at Angela. She told her she’d meet her at the house in a few minutes as she had a few faxes to send, but the truth was she was scared to death, and needed more time to compose herself. She was scared that she would step on the kitten, or that it would claw her. More importantly, she was terrified the kitten would hate her, and that she would have to return it to Angela, failing at yet another relationship.

“Ya’ alright, Beesly? You gonna be sick?” Jim was on his way out when he glanced at Pam and saw the look of sheer terror on her face. His voice pulled her from her thoughts.

“Fine. I’m fine. I’m just…a little nervous about the kitten.”

“You’ll be fine, Beesly, don’t worry. Besides, that little kitten won’t let you worry for long, he’ll be too busy climbing up your curtains and destroying your furniture with his claws.”

Pam’s brow furrowed and the panic returned to her face.

“I’m kidding, Pam. It was a joke. You’ll be fine. And if you need any help, you know where to find me.”  He gave her a genuine Jim smile and turned towards the door.

“Hey, Jim? Thanks. I mean, for the carrier. And the advice. For both. Just, thanks.”

“No problem, Beesly. Enjoy your weekend.”

As the door shut, Pam stood up to get her coat. She couldn’t help but think that this would be much more fun this if Jim was going with her. That was a common thought of hers these days. She flipped off the lights of Dunder Mifflin, Scranton and locked the door behind her.

Disclaimer: I don't own them, no matter how much I wish I did. No copyright infringement intended.

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Pam had been sitting in her car for almost ten minutes trying to get the courage to move. Whether it be into Angela's house to get her kitten, or out of the driveway and towards home to be alone remained to be seen; but anything was better than this limbo she found herself in. It was sitting in her car in Angela's driveway that she realized that this internal conflict she felt wasn't just due to the kitten. It was her life itself. She'd been making changes and sticking up for herself, sure, but the changes were so small even she had a hard time seeing them. She was paralyzed by her fear; she always had been. And she always knew she was. She was just too chicken to do anything about it. It was a vicious cycle. Something in her brain snapped in that moment. She became aware of her own insecurity, and how it was ruining her life. Causing her to pass up chances that could make things better. Chances that could make things more than better. Things could be good for Pam. She became angry with herself. Not for letting Jim or Roy or any other person slip away from her, but for letting herself slip away. She thought about her life and felt like crying. But crying is what the old Pam would've done. The new Pam didn't have time to cry. The new Pam had a kitten to tend to, and a life to get back on track. She pulled the key out of the ignition, and headed up to Angela's front porch. She was unsurprised that the "Welcome!" mat didn't actually say "Welcome!", but featured cats in a variety of poses instead. 

Angela had finally admitted her into the house, after listing at least thirty different rules to abide by. "Please remove your shoes." "Please keep your socks on." "Please do not whistle it scares the cats." "Please do not make direct eye contact with any of the male cats." "Please do not curse, as it causes Oberon's fur to fall out in clumps." It was all Pam could do not to fall into hysterical laughter, which would, of course, break the "Please do not laugh, it triggers Sprinkles to urinate on the bedspread." rule. Pam was unsurprised, yet again, to see several large cats run from the room as she entered.  

Angela's home was exactly how Pam had imagined it. It was small and clean; grey and black being the prominent colors, of course. There was a large cat tree in the corner of the living area, and she noticed a large metal cage on the floor next to it. She searched the room, but couldn't seem to find a single kitten. Angela followed her gaze. 

"I put the kittens in the cage because I wanted them to become acclimated to your scent before I let you see them. They'll feel more comfortable with you if they smell you before you interact with them." Angela rolled her eyes as if this was the most obvious statement she'd ever made. 

"Oh, okay. Well, I guess we wait then? How long before they become...adjusted to my scent?" Pam was doing everything in her power not to burst into laughter. She realized that if she did laugh, Angela would probably make her leave without the kitten. And she'd let herself get used to the idea of being a cat owner, and at least wanted to see the little guy before making a decision. 

"Have a seat on the sofa, and I will bring Ashe over and introduce you. Please keep your voice at a low, soothing level. Don't make any sudden movements, or he could become frightened and claw you. And you will have only yourself to blame."   

Angela gave Pam a stern look and it took Pam a moment to realize that Angela wanted verification that Pam had understood her requests. She nodded and Angela turned to the corner of the room. Pam heard a soft cooing noise and almost choked when she realized it was coming from Angela. She knew that Angela loved her cats, but she'd never heard Angela speak that softly to anyone. 

Pam gasped as Angela returned with the tiny kitten. She had never remembered seeing a more beautiful kitten in her life. His coat was a gorgeous shade of grey with light grey accents and almost black stripes. His little nose was pure black and he had a small black line over each eye that made him look like he was challenging Pam.  She let out a soft "Oh." as Angela set him down on the couch next to her. She reached her hand out to rub his head and he jumped onto his back legs so that he could mash his tiny face into her palm. 

"See." Angela said quietly, "He's quite comfortable with you already because he's accustomed to your scent." 

Pam moved her hand down his short back, taking in the softness of his fur. She smiled at his silliness as he fell over onto his back and kicked his paws into the air. Pam moved to rub his belly, and was surprised when he grabbed her hand with all four of his paws and kicked it to his mouth. Her first instinct was to jerk her hand away, worried he would bite her, or that she would hurt him, but she let him pull her hand. She laughed when he started to lick her skin. She'd never felt a cat's tongue before and was surprised by how rough it was. She continued laughing until she remembered the rule, and her head snapped towards Angela. Surprisingly, Angela was smiling too.  

"I'm confident that he enjoys your company, Pam. You may take him whenever you feel comfortable." 

"Oh, okay." She was a little surprised she was being freed so early. She had been bracing herself for an all night event. And she would never admit it, but Angela's vote of confidence in her helped tremendously. 

She reached over and picked him up, amazed by how little he weighed. So tiny and fragile. As she pulled him to her chest and rubbed his ears, she could feel him start to purr. His little heart was beating against her hand and she realized in that moment that she didn't have to live alone anymore. Now Pam understood why Angela's cats were so important to her. 

She gently placed Ashe in the carrier that Jim had brought her and thanked Angela for giving her the kitten. 

"I reserve the right to drop by unexpectedly to make sure that Ashe's living conditions are acceptable, Pam." 

Pam sighed a little to herself, "Okay Angela. Whatever you think is necessary." 

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As soon as the car started to move, Ashe started to cry. And not the sweet, tiny little baby cry she'd heard at Angela's. It was a full on howl. She was glad they were in the car in the dead of winter, because if a window had been rolled down, someone might have thought she was trying to kill the kitten. She tried cooing and talking to him softly, but nothing was helping. She thought it might be better if she could hold him, that maybe if she held him and rubbed his ears he'd stop crying and start purring again.  

Pam reached over to the passenger seat and fiddled with the lock on the pet carrier. She was having a hard time getting it open, and Ashe's mewling wasn't easing her at all.  She had just about gotten it open when her car slammed into the car in front of her. She instinctively grabbed the carrier so it wouldn't fly off the seat, then as soon as the car had stopped moving, she threw it into park.  

"I'm so sorry, Ashe, are you okay?" 

The kitten mewled in response, and Pam took that as a yes. She unbuckled her seat belt and slid out of the car to assess her damage. Her face reddened as she saw the long line of traffic stopped for the passing train, she thought to herself, a blind person could see this from a mile away. She had never in her life rear-ended anyone, and she couldn't believe that she had done so in such a spectacularly stupid way.  

"Pam?" Jim's voice shook her from her thoughts. 

"Jim, what are you doing here?" 

"Well, I was on my way home from dinner, but then I got stopped by this train, and then I'm pretty sure you just drove your car into the back of mine." He gave her a small smile as he rubbed the back of his neck. 

"Oh, god, Jim. I'm so sorry. So, so sorry. I'll pay for whatever needs to be fixed I just...Ashe was crying and I thought maybe if I held him it would be better, and then I couldn't get the carrier open and...I guess I wasn't paying attention. 

"You got the kitten? Good for you Beesly. Let me see him." 

The conversation was interrupted by the sound of a horn behind them. The train had cleared and traffic was moving again. 

"Oh, well, we should get moving. I'll see him some-" 

"Do you want to come over? I mean, you could follow me to my place and you can meet Ashe there and we can exchange insurance information?" She couldn't believe that she had actually said those words. She knew she wanted to, but she was just amazed at how good it felt to ask for what she really wants.  

Jim's face displayed about a hundred different reactions in the few seconds after Pam's invitation. Shock, followed by terror, back to shock. And then Jim shocked himself by saying, "Why not? I haven't seen your place. Plus, if I'm following you, it'll be a lot harder for you to drive into the back of my car." 

Pam playfully slapped his arm and grinned at him. Another car behind them honked. 

Jim gave her one of his kilowatt smiles as he turned to go back to his car. "Take the lead, Beesly." 

Pam planned on doing exactly that.